Islip
Wooden plaque in St Nicholas' Church, Islip
Of your Charity Pray for the Souls of N BAGNALL J MEDCRAFT W WHYTON A DRINKWATER H GIBBARD W C SMITH H STEVENS G BURDEN A TUFFREY E NEALE E JONES F A MULFORD J TUBB J WOODALL W FAULKS J WARNER A MARSHALL H GARDENER J MILLOINI J TOMPKINS J SMITH W DUFFIELD A WATSON W J SHERPELL MARY HOMBERSLEY Grant unto them eternal peace and let light Perpetual shine upon them I believe in the Communion of Saints 
1939 - 1945
W C NEWMAN E P WATSON R G WISE F J WING T V WALKER A L BRAIN H CHESTERMAN 
The Calvary at the entrance gate to the Churchyard
Hugh Chesterman
The War Memorial by the roadside
The inscription on the War Memorial
IN MEMORY OF THE GLORIOUS DEAD WHO FELL DURING THE GREAT WARS 1914 - 1918 1939 - 1945 
1939 - 1945
WILLIAM CHARLES NEWMAN EDGAR PHILLIP WATSON RICHARD GEORGE WISE FRANCIS JESSE WING ALBERT LESLIE BRAIN HUGH CHESTERMAN THOMAS VICTOR WALKER 
NATHANIEL BAGNALL
GILBERT BURDEN ARNOLD DRINKWATER WILLIAM DUFFIELD WALTER JAMES FAULKS HOLLIS GARDENER HENRY GIBBARD WILLIAM L SHERPELL 
MARY HOMBERSLEY
ELLIS JONES ALEC S MARSHALL JESSE MEDCRAFT JOSEPH MILLOINI FRANK A MULFORD EDWIN NEALE JOSEPH SMITH ALFRED TUFFREY 
WILLIAM G SMITH
A HENRY STEVENS GERALD JOSEPH TOMPKINS WM JOHN TUBB JOHN WARNER JOHN WOODALL WALLACE WHYTON ALBERT WATSON The Methodist Chapel
I am informed by Shirley Martin (Thank you) that there was a Memorial in the Islip Methodist Chapel as follows: To the Glory of God and in Memory of Those men from this Church Who gave their lives In the Great War 1911 - 1919 Wallace Whyton Hollis Gardener William Duffield Jesse Scragg The minutes of the Islip British Legion state that Jesse Scragg had only just moved to Islip so his name was not put on the Islip War Memorial as it was on the Middleton Stoney Memorial but it appears that it was actually the Upper Heyford Memorial. |
The Fallen from WW1
Nathaniel BAGNALL Private, 1st Battalion, Grenadier Guards, 20 Brigade, 7th Division. Army no. 16750 He was killed in action on 24 October 1914 in the Battle of Langemarck. He was 19 He was the son of Herbert and Harriet S Bagnall, Mill Street, Islip He is remembered on panel 9 and 11 of the Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres Additional Information Enlisted Oxford Gilbert Humphries BURDEN Sergeant, 1st/4th Battalion, The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, 145 Brigade, 48th Division. Army no. 200627 He was killed in action on 16 August 1917 in the Battle of Langemarck. He was 22 He was the son of Emily Nash (formerly Burden) 141, Howard Street, Iffley Road, Oxford and the late Frederick Burden. His Grandmother, Celia Burden lived at Lodge Cottage, Upper Street, Islip He is remembered on panel 96 to 98 Tyne Cot Memorial Additional Information Birth Place: Islip Enlistment Location: Oxford Arnold DRINKWATER Private, 648th Motor Transport Company, Royal Army Service Corps. Army no. DM2/154280 He died on 10 February 1917. He was 22 He was the son of Frederick and Sarah Drinkwater He is buried in grave III B 5 Morogoro Cemetery, Tanzania Additional Information Birth place: Islip Residence: Islip Enlistment Location: Oxford William Barnard DUFFIELD Private, 59th Battalion, Machine Gun Corps (Infantry). Army no. 107973. He was formerly with the Gloucestershire Regiment, Army no. 34291. He died on 30 April 1918. He was 23 He was the son of William and Martha Duffield He is buried in grave A 42 Denain Communal Cemetery near Valenciennes Additional Information It is probable that he died in a German Hospital whilst he was a prisoner Birth Place: Harcot Residence: Islip Enlistment Location: Bicester Walter James FAULKS Private, 7th Battalion, The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, 78 Brigade, 26th Division. Army no. 13518 He was killed in action on 18 August 1916 in Gallipoli. He was 21 He was the son of William and Alice Faulks, Acacia, Islip He is buried in grave F 1367 Karasouli Military Cemetery Additional Information Birth Place: Islip Residence: Islip Enlistment Location: Oxford George Hollis GARDINER Probably: Private, 6th Battalion, The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, 60 Brigade, 20th Division. Army no. 16561 He was killed in action on 5 March 1916. He was 33 He is buried in grave I I 8 Essex Farm Cemetery, Belgium Additional Information Birth Place: Islip Residence: Islip Enlistment Location: Oxford His birth appears to be registered as George Hollis Gardner in Banbury in the June quarter 1883 He is listed as Hallis in The UK SWD database In CWGC this man is possibly H Gardiner Henry (Harry) GIBBARD Private, 10th Battalion, The Hampshire Regiment, 29 Brigade, 10th Division. Army no. 17298. He was formerly with 2nd Battalion, The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, Army no. 10943 He died from his wounds on 11 August 1915, he was probably wounded in Gallipoli. He was 30. He was the son of James Gibbard and the late Charlotte Gibbard He is buried in grave K 150 Chatby Military and War Memorial Cemetery, Alexandria, Egypt. Additional information His name also appears on the War Memorial in Noke William J SHERRELL He served with 2nd Southern Group Hospital, Royal Army Medical Corps. Army no. 444074 He was discharged from the Army on 1 July 1919 and awarded a Silver War Badge (a badge signifying that he had been wounded and was no longer able to serve in the Forces) He died age 24 in the last quarter of 1922 He was the son of John and Elizabeth Sherrell who was a Station Master in Islip Additional information As he died after he was discharged, there is no CWGC record Mary HOMBERSLEY Although her name appears on the War Memorial, it is certain that she died as a civilian and from natural causes I have been able to establish that she died on 27 November 1917 at 24 Bath Road, Reading and the informant was a B J Hamilton, who lived at that address Mary had been living in a house called Normancot in Islip until then. Mary had been suffering from a bowel (colon) obstruction for some two years prior to death. This turned out to be a malignant epithelioma and was operated on. Apparently she never recovered from this. She was 55 Her death does not appear to result in any way from her war service but there is a clear implication that she had been working as a Nurse in Serbia and it caused her medical condition. Her Probate record gives her home as Islip and grants it to Elixabeth Hombersley (spinster) and Ruth Stuart (wife of Robert). Ellis JONES Private, 5th Battalion, The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, 42 Brigade, 14th Division. Army no. 16563 He was killed in action on 15 October 1915. He was 36 He was the son of Levi and Mary A Jones of Islip who moved to North Field Farm, Garsington. He is remembered on panel 37 and 39 of the Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres Additional Information Birth Place: Horton Residence: Islip Enlistment Location: Oxford Alec (Alick) Stuart MARSHALL Corporal, Mechanical Transport, 17th Ammunition Sub Park, Army Service Corps. Army no. M2/035041 He was killed in action on 1 October 1916. He was 27 He was the son of Harriet Selina Marshall of Headington Quarry, Oxford, and the late David Marshall. He is buried in grave 20 Bernafay Wood British Cemetery, Montauban, Somme Additional Information He was baptised as Alick which was the spelling on his birth registration His name is also included on the War Memorial in Headington Quarry Church and on his parents gravestone Birth Place: Headington Residence: Headington Enlistment Location: Reading Jesse MEDCRAFT In the records, there is no birth or death of Jesse Medcraft. There is a J Medcraft but he is not Jesse and he is a Londoner. I have looked for spelling variants and found none. There is another Medcraft from Islip who died, a fact that is mentioned on the CWGC record. I submit that this man was probably known as Jesse William Alfred MEDCRAFT Private, 10th Battalion, The York and Lancaster Regiment, 63 Brigade, 37th Division. Army no. 32308 He died from his wounds on 13 October 1917. He was 20. He was the son of William and Annie Medcraft, 55 James Street, Masborough, Rotherham He is buried in grave I D 22 Outtersteene Communal Cemetery Extension, Bailleul in northern France Additional information He was an apprenticed engineer and a native of Islip, Oxford. Joseph James MILLIONI Private, 6th Battalion, The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, 60 Brigade, 20th Division. Army no. 203722 He was killed in action on 16 August 1917 in the Battle of Langemarck. He was 35 He was the son of Mary Anne Millioni and the husband of Lilian Millioni, Lower Street, Islip He is remembered on panel 96 to 98 of Tyne Cot Memorial Additional Information It would appear that the surname on the War Memorial is mis-spelt His address for Probate was 1 The Terrace, Iffley. Birth Place: Holton Residence: Iffley Enlistment Location: Oxford Frank Allan MULFORD Acting Corporal, 621st Mechanical Transport Company, Royal Army Service Corps. Army no. M2/035046, He died on 26 September 1917 at Military Hospital, Bradford. He was 22 He was the son of Thomas & Mary Mulford, Kidlington Road, Islip, He is buried in the Churchyard of St Nicholas Church, Islip Additional Information Birth Place: East Hendred, Berks Residence: Islip Enlistment Location: Bulford Edwin NEALE Private, 1st/1st The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, 145 Brigade, 48th Division. Army no. 267234 He was killed in action on 27 August 1917 near Ypres. He was 33 He was the son of Edward & Emily Neale, Bridge Street, Islip He is remembered on panel 96 to 98 of the Tyne Cot Memorial. Additional Information Birth Place: Islip Residence: Islip Enlistment Location: Oxford Joseph SMITH Lance Corporal, 2nd Battalion, The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry. 5 Brigade, 2nd Division. Army no. 10954 He was killed in action on 30 July 1916 in the fighting at Delville Wood. He was 19 He was the son of James and Emma Smith, Mill Cottage, Mill Street, Islip He is remembered on pier and face 10A and 10D of the Thiepval Memorial Additional information Residence: Islip Enlistment Location: Oxford William C SMITH Private, 152nd Company, Machine Gun Corps (Infantry) Brigade, Division. Army no. 55853. He was formerly with The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment), Army no. G/36731 He was killed in action on 23 April 1917. He was 32 He was the son of William James and Elizabeth Smith of Islip and the husband of Bessie Jane Smith, 44 Bedford Road, West Ealing. He is buried in grave I D 22 British Cemetery, St. Nicolas near Arras Additional Information Birth Place: Islip Enlistment Location: Acton. Henry STEVENS No candidates for this man yet Gerald Joseph TOMPKINS MM Corporal, Oxfordshire Yeomanry (Queen's Own Oxfordshire Hussars). Army no. 285391 He died on 19 November 1918 in a Casualty Clearing Station just a few days after the Armistice. He was 28 He was the son of John and Annie Tompkins of Islip and the husband of Edith B Tompkins, Northampton House, Bicester He is buried in grave I C 4 Solesmes British Cemetery William John TUBB Sergeant, 5th Battalion, The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, 42 Brigade, 14th Division. Army no. 10913 He was killed in action on 24 August 1916 in the fighting at Delville Wood. He was 23 He was the son of William James and Martha Annie Tubb of Islip. He is buried in grave X G 1 Delville Wood Cemetery, Longueval Additional Information Residence Islip Alfred TUFFREY Private, 5th Battalion, The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, 42 Brigade, 14th Division. Army no. 16559 He was killed in action on 25 September 1915 at Bellewaarde. He was 34 He was the son of Thomas and Hannah Tuffrey and the husband of Fanny Jane Tuffrey of Hillside, Islip. He is remembered on panel 37 and 39 of the Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres Additional Information Birth Place: Islip Residence: Islip Enlistment Location: Oxford John WARNER Private, 13th Battalion, The Devonshire Regiment. Army no. 28107. He had transferred to 312th Home Service Company, Labour Corps. Army no. 172180 He died 8 February 1918. He was 38 He was the husband of Mary Ann Warner He is buried in a grave on the west boundary of St. John The Divine Churchyard, Fernham, Berkshire Additional information He was the Landlord of The Swan, Islip John Frederick WOODALL MC Second Lieutenant, 157th Company, Machine Gun Corps (Infantry). He was killed in action on 8 November 1917. He was 18 He is buried in grave XIX A 13 Gaza War Cemetery Additional information The citation for his Military Cross states – for conspicuous gallantry during operations. He rushed a machine gun up to the crater of a newly exploded mine, and by his pluck and skill held the enemy off for 40 minutes until our raiding party had withdrawn. He and his team were under heavy fire. Wallace Jethro WHYTON Private, 2nd Battalion, The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, 5 Brigade, 2nd Division. Army no. 8455 He was killed in action on 14 January 1915. He was 20 He was the son of Wallace and Emily Jane Whyton, Mill Street, Islip He is buried in grave VII F 16 Brown's Road Military Cemetery, Festubert Additional information Born Aynho Enlisted Oxford Residence Bletchington Albert WATSON He was born in the Oxford Registration District in the December quarter 1888 His name is on the memorial out of sequence and I suspect that he died after the Armistice The Fallen from WW2 Albert Leslie BRAIN Leading Aircraftsman, Royal Air Force. RAF no. 637253 He died on 9 October 1944. He was 33 He was the son of Stanley John and Kale Brain of Islip He is remembered on column 438 of the Singapore Memorial Additional Information I believe he died as a PoW of the Japanese Army Hugh CHESTERMAN Lieutenant, Royal Berkshire Regiment, Army no. 94264 He died on 3 November 1941. He was 57. He was the son of Charles F and Frances E Chesterman and the husband of Sylvia Wyse Chesterman of Islip. B.A. He is buried in the Churchyard St. Nicholas, Islip Additional Information He also served in 1914-1918 War Hugh Chesterman was a published author. He wrote many children's books in the 1920s and 30s, and edited a children's magazine called The Merry Go Round, published in Oxford with his great friend Basil Blackwell. Shirley Martin has added to his history: When WW2 started he returned to the Royal Berkshire Regiment where he had served in WW1 and commanded the large underground fuel storage dump in Islip. He lived at home, coupling that job with Education Officer to his Battalion. It was in this role that he met his death. He was riding along the Bicester/Oxford road to take a class at Kidlington when he was struck from behind by a car and killed instantly. His wife remembered that he had been trying to fasten a rear light to his bike before he set off, but it was not in place after the accident, and the Coroner had no hesitation in exonerating the car driver. His address for Probate was The Confessor’s Gate, Islip William Charles NEWMAN Stoker 1st Class, HMS Picotee, Royal Navy. RN no. C/KX 78812, He died on active service on 12 August 1941 He was 32. He was the son of husband of Dora Emma Newman of Islip He is remembered on panel 47, 3 of Chatham Naval Memorial Additional Information HMS Picotee was a Flower-class corvette completed on 5 September 1940. she was tasked to convoy escort operations in the North Atlantic. She was torpedoed and sunk on the morning of 12 August 1941 by the German submarine U-568 south of Iceland while escorting convoy ONS-4. There were no survivors. She was hit by one torpedo and sank almost immediately. There were no survivors. When HMS Picotee failed to return to base enquiries as to her whereabouts were started at once. She failed to answer signals requesting her to report her position and it was found that she had not been seen by aircraft flying from Iceland. She had to be presumed lost with all hands when a careful air search of the area failed to find her or any trace of survivors. Not until long after the end of the war, when captured U-boat logs were examined, was it established that HMS Picotee had been torpedoed by U568 a German submarine. Entries in her log showed that her Captain had sighted a Corvette (which he could not identify) near convoy ONS.4 soon after HMS Picotee had last been seen by HMS Ayrshire. He fired torpedoes, one of which hit the corvette amidships just below the bridge. She broke in two and sank almost immediately, some of her depth charges exploding as she sank. The entire ship's company of 5 officers and 61 ratings were lost Thomas Victor WALKER Lance Corporal, 10th Battalion, Highland Light Infantry (City of Glasgow Regiment) Brigade, Division. Army no. 1804115 He died in the very fierce fighting near Estry, Calvados on 7 August 1944. He was 23. He was the son of Thomas Victor and Dorothy Walker, Noke. He is buried in grave VII A 14 St. Charles de Percy War Cemetery, Normandy His name also appears on the Noke Memorial Edgar Phillip WATSON Sergeant 104 Squadron, Royal Air Force. RAFVR no. 1353595 He died on active service on 29 June 1943. He was 23 He was the son of Edgar James and Alice Watson, of Islip He is remembered on column 272 of the Alamein Memorial Additional Information Wellington II W5455, R of 104 Squadron was reported missing on a flare-dropping mission to Messina. The crew who died were: Sergeant James Cumming Cochran 1349957, Flying Officer Nichol Blake Weatherston 129600, Sergeant Arthur Edward Reed 1320326, Sergeant Arthur Edward Simmons 1211939 as well as Sergeant Edgar Phillip Watson Francis Jesse WING Aircraftman 2nd Class, 242 Squadron, Royal Air Force. RAFVR no. 1316108 He died as a PoW of the Japanese Army on 29 November 1943. He was 21 He was the son of Joseph Edgar and Fanny Wing of Islip He is remembered on the Singapore Memorial Additional Information In 1943, the Japanese authorities decided to ship the sick back to Java. A total of 640 men, including a number of Japanese patients, were taken on board the 4,645-ton passenger-cargo ship Suez Maru. In two holds, 422 sick British (including 221 RAF servicemen) and 127 sick Dutch prisoners and including up to twenty stretcher cases, were accommodated. The Japanese patients filled the other two holds. These ships were known as Hellships as the Japanese refused to paint on the normal red cross and treated the vessels as normal cargo ships. The conditions for the prisoners was appalling including no sanition and limited food and drink This Hellship was the Suez Maru and it was sunk on 29 November 1943 by USS Bonefish, off Kangean Islands who had no idea of the “cargo” Escorted by a minesweeper W-12, the Suez Maru set sail from Port Amboina but while entering the Java Sea and about 327 kilometers east of Surabaya, Java, the vessel was torpedoed by the American submarine USS Bonefish. The ship started to list as water poured into the holds drowning hundreds, many managed to escape the holds and swam away from the sinking ship. The Japanese mine sweeper W-12 picked up the Japanese survivors, leaving between 200 and 250 men in the sea. At 14.50 hours, the minesweeper, W-12, under orders from Captain Kawano, opened fire, using a machine gun and rifles. Rafts and lifeboats were then rammed and sunk by the W-12. The firing did not cease till all the prisoners were killed, the minesweeper then sped off towards Batavia (Jakarta) at 16.30 hours. 69 Japanese had died during the attack, 93 Japanese soldiers and 205 Japanese sick patients were rescued by the Japanese. Of the 547 British and Dutch prisoners, there is reported to be one survivor, a British soldier, Kenneth Thomas, who was picked up twenty-four hours later by the Australian minesweeper HMAS Ballarat. Richard George WISE Marine, HMS Barham, Royal Marines. RM no. PO/X 799 He died on 25 November 1941. He was 31 He was the son of Edwin and Edith Wise He is remembered on panel 59, column 3 of the Portsmouth Naval Memorial Additional Information On 25 November 1941 at 16.25 hours while steaming to cover an attack on Italian convoys with the battleships HMS Queen Elizabeth, HMS Valiant and an escort of eight destroyers, HMS Barham was hit by three torpedoes from the German submarine U-331. Leading Telegraphist A R Bacon remained at his station following the first attack to alert accompanying ships of the presence of U-331, which greatly aided the search and rescue. The torpedoes were fired from a range of only 750 yards providing no time for evasive action, and struck so closely together as to throw up a single massive water column. As she rolled over, her magazines exploded and she quickly sank. The explosion was caught on camera by Gaumont News cameraman John Turner, who was on the deck of the nearby HMS Valiant. Out of a crew of approximately 1,184 officers and men, 841 were killed. The survivors were rescued by the other British ships. The Fallen in WW1 who are not on the War Memorial Joseph BOWERMAN Bombardier, 3rd Trench Mortar Battery, Royal Horse Artillery and Royal Field Artillery. Army no. 90521 He was killed in action near Ypres on 9 May 1915. He was 38 He was the son of Alick and Rebekah Bowerman He is remembered on panel 5 and 9 of the Menin Gate Memorial. Ypres Additional information Birth Place: Islip Enlistment: Barnsley William John EDWARDS Private, 72nd Company, Machine Gun Corps (Infantry). Army no. 46045. He was formerly with The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry Brigade. Army no. 17326, He was killed in action near Ypres on 15 August 1917. He was 24 He was the son of Charles and the late Florence Norris, 38 Wood Street, Wallingford He is buried in grave I G 15 Enclosures no. 1 and no. 2 Voormezeele Cemetery Additional information Birth Place: Islip Residence: Wallingford Enlistment Location: Oxford Frederick James KING Driver, 74 Brigade HQ, Royal Horse Artillery and Royal Field Artillery. Army no. 31126 He died from his wounds probably in the Casualty Clearing Station, (front line hospital) in Choques on 19 October 1915. He was 26 He was the son of Fanny and the late Henry King, 12 Manor Place, Holywell, Oxford He is buried in grave I G 77 Chocques Military Cemetery near Bethune Additional information Birth Place: Islip, Enlistment Location: Lambeth William Alfred MEDCRAFT Private, 10th Battalion, The York and Lancaster Regiment, 63 Brigade, 37th Division. Army no. 32308 He died from his wounds on 13 October 1917. He as probably wounded in the second Battle of Ypres. He was 20. He was the son of William and Annie Medcraft, 55 James Street, Masborough, Rotherham He is buried in grave I D 22 Outtersteene Communal Cemetery Extension, Bailleul Additional information Apprenticed engineer. Native of Islip. William Thomas PENN Private, 7th Battalion, The Duke of Edinburgh's (Wiltshire Regiment). Army no. 16008 He died from his wounds on 7 October 1918. He was 30 He was the son of Eleanor Penn of Lower Green, Middleton Cheney and the late John Penn He is buried in grave III A 27 Doingt Communal Cemetery Extension Additional information Birth Place: Islip, Residence: Middleton Cheney Enlistment Location: Oxford Arthur Thomas STOPP Private, 10th Battalion, Alexandra, Princess of Wales's Own (Yorkshire Regiment), 62 Brigade, 21st Division. Army no. 19532 He was killed in action on 17 July 1916 in the Battle of Bazentin Ridge. He was 34. He was the husband of Mary Jane Stopp, High Street, Helmsley He is remembered on pier and face 3A and 3D of the Thiepval Memorial Additional Information Birth Place: Islip Enlistment Location: Malton Trevor Sidney TUFFREY Private, 1st Battalion, The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry. Army no. 9391 He died on 31 July 1916 of natural causes. He was 21 He was the son of Sidney and Sophie Tuffrey, Station Road, Wokingham. He is remembered on panel 26 and 63 of the Basra Memorial, Iraq Additional information Birth Place: Islip, Residence: Wokingham Enlistment Location: Reading Herbert William WISE Private, 7th Battalion, The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry 78 Brigade, 26th Division. Army no. 19179 He died of natural causes on 6 November 1918. He was 20 He was the son of Henry Wise He is buried in grave D 8 Plovdiv Central Cemetery, Bulgaria Additional information Residence: Islip The servicemen buried at Plovdiv Central Cemetery died either as prisoners of war or while serving with the occupying forces following the Bulgarian capitulation in September 1918. It was formerly called Philippopolis (St. Archangel) Cemetery and was formed after the Armistice by the concentration of graves from seven other cemeteries. |
